Destoying Memories
by fairtradecocoabeans
Summary: When Percy's mother dies of a monster attack, he strays onto a darker path - longing to avenge his mother. But can he keep hold of his anger or will his choices be swayed by a silver eyed goddess? Set in Ancient Greece. Percy&Artemis :)
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The monster attacked without warning, it came hungry for blood, bursting through the open window. The stone window pane shattered as the hellhound pounced into the room.

Its eyes were red with hunger and malice.

Sally screamed and backed away, her arms held onto her son tighter. The beast approached her, saliva dripped from its fangs and its back was arched as if ready to spring forwards.

Stumbling over the fallen stones of her house, she fled. Her two year old son cried from the cold outside. Her breath was becoming laboured as she ran down the hill to the sea, hoping that Poseidon would save them. She had promised herself that she would never think about him again after he broke her heart and left.

The hellhound was running behind her, it was getting faster and faster. _Save Percy, Save Percy, _with all of her strength she ran down to the coves of the sea, where the dead seaweed lay threatening to make her fall. Sally dared to look behind her, the monster met her terrified eyes.

It was almost upon her.

"Poseidon!" she cried desperately, praying that he answered her.

But there was nothing. No sign of him. She fought back a sob, she should've known that he wouldn't have answered her.

Suddenly she tripped over something sharp in the sand, without thinking, she threw it behind her at the hellhound. The broken dagger hit the creature in the snout, it roared with pain, momentarily stunned.

Sally used the time to run forwards into an enclosed cave by the ocean, she placed her baby inside, her heart breaking at the thought of losing him. Then she sprinted out, but the hellhound caught up with her.

Its paws connected with her back and she tumbled to the ground. Blood gushed out of her back, soaking into her clothes.

The hellhounds shadow loomed over her as she prepared herself for death.

Pain erupted in her chest, before she had time to scream.

But instead of resisting, she embraced the darkness, knowing that she had saved the only precious thing in her life.


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi peoples! Greetings from England and stuff...NOTE: I have not abandoned my other story, half finished the next chapter for it so it should be online by tomorrow evening. :) Btw: This is a pertimis story although don't expect them to get together soon, thanks for the reviews and i hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

**So happy reading! **

* * *

_1o years later..._

A scream echoed through the forest.

The bright orange fire shone through the trees of the forest, a roar of a creature howled into the night air.

Another cry flooded into Percy's ears, jolting him wide awake. Without hesitating, he grabbed his sword from the cave floor and ran down the rocky slopes into the forest. The ground was damp beneath him from the harsh rainfall yesterday. Mud clung to his bare feet as he raced through the forest.

A flame of fire lit up the trees again, broken logs burned on the ground in a wide clearing. Percy looked up at the monster, his eyes flickered with anger.

A fully grown hydra gazed penetratingly back at him, its red eyes in slits. Two girls were cowering behind a group of rocks, trying to protect themselves from the beast.

Percy narrowed his eyes at the creature, raising his hand out in front of him. There was a small tug in his gut, the moisture in the air transformed into shards of pure ice.

Both of the hydras heads hissed in anger as the ice shards flew directly towards its heart. It roared and dodged the ice, whilst spewing red hot fire at Percy.

The two girls behind him screamed as he was engulfed in flames; though the flames didn't hurt too much, since he had been building up resistance for the past few years. The hydra screeched in fury as it realised that Percy was not a pile of charred bones.

It swiped a claw at him, but he rolled underneath it quickly. He stabbed at the monsters body, trying to reach its heart.

But the fight was harder than he anticipated; the hydra was completely refusing to disintegrate – which was incredibly annoying for Percy.

He sighed. Only was last trick in the book...

The vapour around the hydra started wavering, as if it were turning into liquid. Percy felt a large pull in his gut and he concentrated on the moisture, making it freeze completely. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

Ice started coating the hydra layer by layer...it was as though it were moving in slow motion, getting slower and slower and slower.

And then there was no sound. The screeching had stopped, only the sound of the night wind could be heard in the dark forest.

Percy looked up at his sculpture, breathing a sigh of relief. Perfect.

He turned behind him to look at the two girls.

They poked their heads over the rocks, their eyes wide and fearful. Percy wondered what they were doing out so late. Although right now it didn't seem so important.

He took a stepped towards them.

"Run!" one of them squeaked and literally dragged her friend into the darkness of the woods. One of them carried a basket full of berries that scattered onto the wet grass.

Percy watched them run away, confused. He didn't understand why children didn't like him – after all, he was a child himself. Though he hadn't been counting the years he had been alive. Was he twelve or eleven? Somewhere along those lines.

There was another thing Percy didn't understand about people. Why do so many people live in one house? He didn't get it. Shouldn't everyone else live in caves too? Why was he the only one that lived by himself in a cave?

It made no sense to him.

A chill swept suddenly through him. The shadows around him started darkening, reaching out towards him, and surrounding him. He backed away, an emotion he had never felt before flooded through his body. The wind whipped through the tree leaves, making them moan miserably.

Wildly, he looked around, trying to see through the darkness. He sensed something approaching him, but he couldn't move, he couldn't run. It was nothing like he had ever faced before.

And then through the black mist, he saw a robed figure walking towards him. The person radiated an enormous amount of power; an aura of evil outlined his body.

"Who are you?" Percy demanded, though he probably shouldn't have said it so rudely.

The figure stepped closer towards him, revealing his face for the first time. Percy shivered at his features, the person whoever he was looked twisted...evil. His robes looked like darkness themselves.

The man grinned, showing perfect white teeth. "Erebus," he replied, his voice was rich and deep...like the darkest depths of the sea. "Primordial of Darkness," He smiled at him as though he expected Percy to fall down in fear at his name.

"Wait, what? Primordial?" Percy asked. He felt nervous for some reason, maybe it was the sudden darkness.

"Yes, I'm a Primordial – son of Chaos and Nyx, I'm sure you've heard of them."

Percy blinked. Chaos? Nyx? What was he going on about?

"Uh...no..."

The strange man named Erebus raked his fingers through his hair irritably. "_Chaos_, the creator of all – don't tell me you don't know anything about the Primordial's or the Gods?"

"Um..."

"Obviously you don't. Do you at least know about the Gods? Zeus?" he muttered something after his name that Percy couldn't quite catch. "Hades? Poseidon? You of all people should know who they are."

Percy was beginning to think that this guy was mad. Gods? Primordials? It made no sense.

"Right..."

Erebus groaned, as if he were trying to teach a two year old how to count to ten.

"You're half God – your father is obviously Poseidon from your ability over water...your mother was a mortal. She died by a hellhound attack when you were two years of age."

"My m-mother?" Percy whispered. It felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach.

A dark look washed over Erebus' face. "Yes, your mother. The Gods don't care about their children or the mortals they bore them with. Poseidon heard her cries when your mother died – but what did he do? Nothing."

Percy's fists clenched. He could hear the spark of truth in this man's words.

Erebus saw his reaction and was pleased. "All of the Gods – they think that they're so powerful, they think that they can break mortals heart and just leave them. Just like that. Just like what Poseidon did to your mother."

Percy gritted his teeth, he knew Erebus what hinting at something. "What are you getting at?"

Erebus laughed, though there was no joke. "I'm giving you the chance to avenge your mother's death – destroy the Gods once and for all...maybe then I can find a way to bring your mother back."

Percy's eyes widened. He bit his lip, wondering whether to accept Erebus' offer. If this was real then Percy did want revenge. How could his so called father _watch _as his mother died? He thought back through his memories, trying to remember his mother.

"You promise you're going to bring back my mother?" His heart leapt at the thought of her returning.

"Yes, but first you must join me – build and train the biggest army of monsters Ancient Greece has ever known," Erebus smiled sinisterly at him.

"Wait...monsters? Aren't they evil?"

Erebus shook his head. "Monsters are not evil; they are like any other creature that follows their instinct. Although the best thing about monsters is they live to fight – together we can use them to our advantage-"

"To kill the Gods?" Percy vaguely wondered if this was a massive prank, trying to make him look like an idiot. If it was, it was working.

"Yes, especially your father who thinks he can go round impregnating anyone he likes and then just leave them to fend for themselves."

Percy clenched his jaw; Erebus knew exactly how to get at him.

"What will happen when we kill them?"

"Then we both shall rule earth," Erebus told him simply.

"And the mortals will be left in peace?"

"Of course."

Erebus' lips lifted up in a triumphant grin, something about his expression felt cold and dark. Almost like he didn't care about anyone or anything...only the lust for power.

He gripped Percy's arm with his freezing cold fingers. "Hold your breath," he warned.

"What? Where are we going?" Percy asked nervously.

"Tartarus. Our training camp in Tartarus."

Suddenly the darkness closed in around them, compressing Percy until he couldn't breathe. He shut his eyes as a sense of nausea filled his stomach. There was screaming all around him.

Just when he couldn't hold his breath any longer, the shadows loosened and he fell forwards, throwing up on the ground.

"Sorry," Erebus said, though he didn't sound sorry. "Shadow travelling is always nasty for the first time."

Percy didn't answer as he blinked back the dots in his eyes.

"Well anyway, this is the training grounds...blah...blah...blah..." Erebus gestured to the rocky landscape.

Percy stared at it in apprehension. A black coloured palace loomed up in the distance; loose chains lay like a tripping hazard across the uneven ground. If it wasn't for the strange green fire and the cracks of lava in the ground, the place would have been in pitch darkness.

Something nagged him in his mind that this was wrong. This wasn't what he where he belonged. But he wanted revenge didn't he? And he wanted his mother back more than anything.

A figure of a woman was approaching them briskly; a murderous expression was etched upon her beautiful features. She wore a dark blue outfit, which looked like it was made out of constellations, constantly moving and changing.

"Erebus!" she scolded, stopping in front of them. "What took you so long? The monsters are going absolutely crazy, I've run out food to give them – _I_ can't help it if no demigods live in this mud hole! Wait...who's this?"

"Persues," Erebus said, slightly retreating from the intimidating woman's glare. "Persues, this is Nyx – Primordial goddess of night."

Percy blinked. Was this real?

"Ah... so you've finally managed to get him on our side then? Great. Now you both can fetch about three hundred demigods from earth," Nyx said impatiently, putting her hands on her hips.

"_Mother_," Erebus whined.

"You go and find some fresh morsels for the monsters – _I'll _introduce Persues properly."

Erebus sighed and started dissolving into shadows.

"And when you get back, I expect you to clean out all that minotaur dung in section B – he's got bowel troubles at the moment...probably from _someone's _dreadful cooking," she called.

Percy looked at her, lost for words. _This _was the Primordial of night – she didn't even look scary.

"Oh, I'm very scary," Nyx said suddenly, making Percy jump. "Right, anyways – let me introduce you to _my _fantastic training camp for monsters – no help from Erebus though..."

She started walking quickly down towards a cluster of buildings, which stank of a wide range of terrible aromas.

"This is section A – it's for the most terrible monsters out in existence – then over there is section B-" she pointed to another cluster of buildings that was literally drowning in faeces. "Sorry about the smell...as I said, the minotaur is not having a good day..."

Percy cringed when he felt his foot sink into something squidgy.

"Ok – that's section C, that's where the hellhounds and other minor monsters live – and this..." she led him over a massive arena that was lit up by burning green fire. In the centre, two hideous looking creatures were sword fighting. "This is the training arena – a lot of the time we have endurance tests here and war games."

The two monsters stopped fighting suddenly and turned around to look at Percy. They licked their lips hungrily.

"This is Persues...he will be fighting for our cause – _so no eating him ok?_" Nyx said firmly.

The monsters growled with annoyance and went back to fighting.

Nyx led him out of the arena and down a path that was decorated with skulls and bones that definitely did not look human. Nyx saw him looking and laughed.

"Oh them? They are the bones on monsters that cannot prove their worth – Erebus usually kills them with his sword so they can't reform and this is what happens!" she said it like she was explaining how to arrange flowers in a vase. "And up ahead is our palace – you will be staying there, maybe you'd like to get acquainted with the other demigod that is here."

"There's another demigod, like me?" Percy said with awe, so maybe he wouldn't be the only one.

Nyx laughed. "Yeah, she's called Arianne, her father is Zeus – he abandoned her and her mother when she was born. Be careful though – you don't want to get on her bad side..."

Percy nodded hesitantly.

Nyx led him up the stone steps and into the dark walled palace, the ceiling was at least ten times taller than him. Fire blazed in hearths and the skulls of enemies decorated the walls. Percy felt a sense of dread enter him, the whole castle felt like a torture chamber...like it was a place to keep criminals.

"Right, so I'm just giving you the basic's...over there is the stairs to the bedrooms-" she gestured to a wide staircase to the right of him. "That's the training room – I think Arianne is in there right now."

Percy looked in to see a sixteen year old girl hacking away at the straw dummies, shredding them to pieces.

Beside him, Nyx frowned. "Just look at that mess, seriously. This is the hundredth time this week and she still hasn't cleared up."

Percy shifted on his feet, feeling awkward. Was he even meant to be here? He was the son of a God? Everything was crashing down on him at once, making him feel confused with his mixed emotions.

The girl in the middle of the training room stopped destroying the dummies to smithereens and stared curiously at Percy.

"Who's this?" she asked striding casually towards them. Her voice was loud and fierce.

"Ah...Arianne, how nice of you to join us – this is our new ally, Persues – son of Poseidon," Nyx answered, though her eyes were focused on the mess of the floor.

"So this is the kid you've been going on about for the last ten years?" Arianne said in a bored tone. "He doesn't look like much."

"Appearances can be deceiving – we'll have him looking absolutely terrifying when he's older," Nyx assured. "Although you're going to be the one to train him."

Arianne gaped, her eyes flashing angrily. "What? No way."

"Yes you are and then both of you can go and reform some more monsters for me. Artemis is being incredibly nice to us, she goes after the stray monsters and kills them – then we collect their essence from Tartarus and force them to join our army!"

"How do we know he's not going to betray us?" Arianne said distrustfully, eyeing up Percy. "He's got that 'good' sort of glow to him-"

"No, he hasn't," Nyx told her, glaring with her midnight coloured eyes. "Anyway, I'll leave you two to...er...get 'acquainted'. Oh and after that, _clean up that floor_, it's driving me insane. And then I want both of you to help Erebus capture a few demigods for the monsters and then I want-"

"Yes, yes, ok," Arianne interrupted impatiently.

Nyx glared at her and then retreated back down the hallway, leaving Percy alone under the gaze of a very intimidating girl.

Arianne leaned against the door frame, towering over him. Her dark blue eyes stared at him critically.

"So you're a demigod, huh?"

"I suppose...though I only found out today..." Percy said, fidgeting slightly.

"Whatever, I expect you know why you're here. Don't you?"

Percy nodded, ducking his head.

"Good. Finally we're getting somewhere – are you any good with a sword? Don't answer that by the way, I want you to show me."

Percy looked down at his sword that he had stolen from Athens; it wasn't the best sword ever and was slightly too heavy for him.

Arianne unsheathed her sword and walked into the training room. He followed her, feeling slightly anxious. She stood opposite him, her face expressionless.

Without warning, she swung her sword at him in a clean swipe. Percy barely had time to deflect it; another strike came at him laden with immense power and force. His arm shook from the pressure. He twisted sharply as Arianne slashed multiple times, and then sent a flurry of attacks at her. She deflected them all at ease, not even bothering to attack.

Percy gritted his teeth, she was toying with him – this fight was just a breeze for her. He stabbed suddenly at her stomach, catching her slightly off guard – though she stopped his sword and then attacked with full force.

Sweat beaded across his brow, his arms felt like lead and trembled violently as he deflected each blow. She swiped her leg beneath his, sending him crashing to the straw covered ground. The point of her sword touched his neck.

Arianne held out her hand and helped him up. He wiped the sweat off his face, the feeling of defeat felt weakening. Never before had he been beaten in a fight at such ease.

"Hold your sword again," Arianne instructed.

Oh no...Was she really going to make him do it again? Nevertheless, he gripped his sword tightly.

"Your posture is too stiff, relax your shoulders – loosen your fingers on the hilt – like this," she demonstrated, holding her sword casually in her hand. "You need to be able to change your grip every so often for different moves."

Percy nodded tiredly.

"But otherwise, I can tell you're a true warrior in the making – not many people could last that long against me. Although, I have had three hundred years of practice."

"Three hundred years?"

Arianne rolled her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Yeah, I'm immortal – and so will you when you turn 16, Nyx and Erebus will grant you your immortality then."

Percy nodded weakly. Forever sixteen? He liked the sound of that.

"Don't look so tired," Arianne told him irritably. "We've got a mission to find and destroy ten healthy demigods, for our army of monsters."

"But aren't they innocent?"

Arianne's' eyes flashed with aggravation. "Anyone who sides with the Gods are definitely not innocent – the Gods use them like pawns on a chess board, then forget about them once they've proved their worth."

Percy sensed a hidden meaning under her words. He wondered what had made her so bitter towards the Gods. Underneath her tempered blue eyes, a hidden emotion lurked there but Percy couldn't identify it.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Hi! Sorry for the long update, i've hardly had any time to write this week - so i hope this chapter makes up for it...**

**To Nouney: Thanks for commenting - I've just had a MASSIVE boulder of inspiration reading that - :D**

**to UPC (that's my nickname for u, cos your name is really long) : i hate that as well...and (minor spoiler alert) i'm not going to do that**

**And keep reading and review! hope you like it!**

**BTW: Artemis does not have her hunt yet! And she doesn't hate men as much in the books...**

* * *

"Did you really have to throw up on my shoes?"

Percy coughed and wiped his mouth. "Sorry."

"That is disgusting," Arianne wrinkled her nose.

"Sorry," Percy repeated, hoping that she wouldn't hold it against him.

"Stop saying sorry," Arianne flicked her black hair over her shoulders. "It's what pathetic people do."

"Umm..."

"And don't say 'umm'. It's annoying."

Ouch. What had gotten into her today? Percy wasn't even sure if he was up to this. Sure, he resented the Gods and stuff – even though he'd only heard about them today – but was he ready to rebel against them? How could they even hope to win? And working with a demon like Arianne...it sure didn't sound like fun.

"Can you at least _try _to look enthusiastic? It's almost like you don't want to kill a bunch of random demigods."

"But aren't they innocent?"

Arianne rolled her eyes. "We've been through this, anyone who sides with the gods deserve to be destroyed in the most painful way possible, got it?"

"But-"

"_Got it_?"

"Ok..."

"Great. Now we can _actually start_ our mission, oh...and next time I shadow travel, remind me never to bring you. These were my favourite shoes."

Without waiting for him to reply, she turned the corner into the dusty streets of Athens. Percy followed after her, though his legs were begging to sit down.

The night sky twinkled with stars above them, everything was completely quiet and still. The stone houses around them were dark and hushed, as if even the streets were slumbering.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked, trying to keep up with her speed. Every step she took was two of Percy's.

"The demigod training camp," Arianne said with distaste. "It shouldn't be too hard, most of the demigods there think they're so great and amazing – in reality they're a bunch of arrogant jerks."

Percy nodded.

"The boundary to the camp will let us in, since we're demigods," her expression held a silent anger to it. "We basically go in, kidnap the sleeping demigods – I'll shadow travel them down to Tartarus, and then hope that no one sees us."

"What do I do then?" Percy asked.

Arianne shrugged. "Steal some supplies – the usual stuff: ambrosia, nectar, weapons – I would love to see the heroes faces when we steal their _oh so precious _daggers and swords."

Percy had no idea what ambrosia and nectar was, but he decided to go along with it.

She led him up a tall hill and into a dip of beautifully designed stone buildings, twelve in total. Except for a big stone building that stood at the entrance of the camp, it's windows were dark and full of gloom.

"How people can bear to live here is beyond me..." Percy heard Arianne mutter as she stared with disgust at the landscape.

They sneaked down through the buildings, keeping close to the shadows.

Arianne motioned for him to follow her into an impressively built building; it was made of marble and had a certain glow of energy around it.

Inside were an empty hearth and a few beds with sleeping demigods on top. Arianne's face looked absolutely terrifying in the moonlight, as if every single one of these boys had just insulted her. A statue of a bearded man glared down at them both, a lightning bolt clenched in his hand.

"Get anything you can find, I'll transport them to Tartarus – _don't do anything foolish_," she whispered hurriedly.

She touched the forehead of one of the demigods and they both dissolved into the shadows, without a sound.

Percy shifted his feet, feeling slightly awkward. He stepped backwards...and tripped over a pile of swords and daggers. Oops...

The metal clanged together.

Every single demigod shot up from their beds, their hands already on their daggers.

"Show yourself," an over muscular guy commanded, rolling out of bed and pointing his sword into the darkness.

The others followed his example.

Percy held his breath, staying close to the wall, hidden in the shadows. The demigods stepped forwards, completely wide awake now.

Suddenly a dagger was thrown at his head, missing it by an inch. Percy panicked; there was no way he could defeat all these trained demigods...that would be suicide.

_Now would be a good time to come back Arianne_, Percy thought pleadingly.

"Show yourself!" another said more forcefully.

As if he'd listen to them. He stayed unmoving pressed against the wall. Maybe he would have enough power to freeze them all in ice...but it still felt like a pretty big feat.

Another dagger slammed into the wall next to him.

"Get out of the shadows, coward. Face us like a true Greek," one of them spat.

Percy bristled with anger, energy coursed through his veins. Arianne was right. They were all jerks. He could feel the water vapour in the air awaiting his power. His eyes flashed a dark green and the temperature dropped about ten degrees.

Frost started clinging to the demigods in front of him, they all started yelling and started approaching him. But their movements were sloppy and slow. The frost thickened by the second, Percy channelled his anger faster and faster. Ice rapidly coated every single person in the room, they were shouting in horror as they couldn't move their legs or arms.

"What is this sorcery?" one of them yelled, trying to see into the darkness.

Percy smirked. The feeling of supremacy filled him, he watched the helpless demigods freeze inside an unbreakable block of ice. He smiled. Strangely his exhaustion had gone, leaving behind a warm feeling of triumph.

He emerged from the shadows inspecting his handiwork.

Suddenly he was thrown onto the floor roughly. His head banged painfully on the marble as he looked up at a very angry girl.

"_What have you done?_" Arianne hissed at him. Now she decided to turn up...

"Defeated a dozen demigods for you," Percy replied, avoiding her furious gaze. "What's wrong with that?"

"Apart from the fact that monsters can't eat their food cold – you've just wasted a whole group of demigods for no reason at all – what did you even do?"

Percy flushed at her anger. "Um...I might have tripped over some swords and...Er..."

"Perfect – now you've probably woken up the whole camp, just because of your clumsiness. I can't believe I thought you had potential."

Percy got up, facing her. Fury clouded his mind. "It wasn't my fault, ok? At least I actually stopped them – it's not like it's the end of the world. So maybe you can stop being such a bitch about it."

There was a moments silence and Percy immediately felt guilty.

Arianne glared at him. But instead of impaling him on her spear, a spark of admiration lit up her blue eyes.

"Good, you're learning. At least, you're not as wimpy as I thought you were."

Percy breathed in relief; his sudden anger had disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"_But _if you ever talk back to me like that again, I assure you, you won't like the consequences," she let the threat hang in the air.

Percy nodded, though he held his gaze with her. Her lips tilted up slightly in approval.

"Collect as many weapons as you can find, _try not to make a noise_," she left him standing in the cold white building.

Percy sighed and collected the swords and shields that were scattered around the room. He took one last glance at the frozen figures and then stepped outside into the cool night air.

"Orion?" someone whispered suddenly.

Percy jumped, dropping his swords in shock. He spun around to face a beautiful auburn haired girl; she stared with a jumble of mixed emotions at him. His first instinct was to run. The girl's aura was strong, so she was either a very powerful demigod – or a goddess.

"Orion?" the girl said again, she looked as if she was going to cry.

"What? No, I'm...er...Percy," he backed away from her slowly.

"But – but I'm sure..."

Percy shook his head. "I don't know what you're going on about," he scooped up his pile of swords and started walking away from her.

"Wait! Don't go! You didn't say who you are – I haven't seen you around camp before," she grabbed hold of his wrist.

Percy stopped walking and turned to face her again, what was he supposed to say?

"I'm new here," he lied carefully. "I don't know who my Godly parent is yet."

His hands felt sweaty. He was such a bad liar. Though the girl seemed to buy it, thankfully.

"I'm Artemis – goddess of the moon," she said, her silver eyes bore into his. "I could have sworn you were Orion..." her voice trailed off.

"Who's Orion?" though his voice was guarded. Why was he talking to a goddess? They were all the same.

Artemis looked up to the sky. "He was a friend...I'm sorry I mistook you for him, you're probably a son of Poseidon – I can ask him if you want."

Percy clenched his jaw when he thought of his father. "No, it's really ok. I have to go."

He tugged his arm away from the Goddess' grip and walked away from her. Irritation swelled up in his heart, he had almost thought that she was a normal person for a moment. But she wasn't, he bet that she was just like them all. Going around breaking mortal's hearts with no cares in the world and then expecting people to worship them.

He picked up his pace; there was no way he was going to ever get close to one. Ever.

* * *

_Atlantis._

"My lord, Poseidon."

Poseidon turned around to see Delphin staring at him. His wide dolphin eyes were urgent.

"Yes?"

"Amphitrite is awaiting your presence."

Poseidon sighed in relief. He hurried after Delphin through the underwater palace, and rushed to the side of his wife. She was breathing regularly now, a joyous smile lit up her face when she locked eyes with him.

In her arms was an adorable baby boy, wrapped in linen. Poseidon smiled down at the child; its features resembled his, though the child's skin was a pale green that encased it in a gentle glow.

"Triton," he breathed, happiness flooded into him. "He's perfect."

Amphitrite smiled, the infant gazed up at her face with a curious expression.

"He takes after you," his wife said. Poseidon was shocked; he had never seen his wife hand out compliments so easily. It was nice to see a new side to her, of course, this was her first son.

Although she probably wouldn't be as happy if she found out all his affairs that he had...

"What's wrong?" she took note of his changed expression.

"Nothing, my love," he told her quickly. "I was just amazed how perfect our son is."

The baby in her hands looked at him; his eyes were wide and intelligent...not at all like a mortal baby. Pride surged through him, this was his first proper son and he couldn't ask for anything more.

Amphitrite also looked at him, as if she was figuring something out.

"You've got that expression again," she said, worry was laced in her voice.

"Expression?" Poseidon replied vaguely. He didn't have a clue as to what she was talking about.

"You know that expression. It's when you're thinking of...something...or someone," Amphitrite said slowly and cautiously. Her pale eyes narrowed at him.

Poseidon was taken aback. He didn't know what to say.

"See? This is what I mean; you've been having flings behind my back, haven't you?" her voice was hurt and she clutched her child closer. "Then you have the nerve to daydream about them when you're talking to me."

"But I wasn't!" Poseidon protested. But even as he said it, memories started to form in his mind.

"Stop lying," Amphitrite was close to tears. "I bet you don't even care about me – I haven't cheated on you, why do you betray me like this?"

"It's not like that! I love you, you know that," Poseidon meant it; he did really love his wife.

"I love you too, but what about all those mortals – what about all those children who grow up without a father? How do you think they feel?" Amphitrite said softly, she turned her head to look away from him.

Poseidon lowered his head. She was right, like always. But nothing could be done now about it, the past is the past. He couldn't change it.

"Amphr-"

"Just go," she told him. "Leave me alone for now."

"But-"

"Please."

Sighing, Poseidon left the room. Behind him, his first godly child started crying as he departed. Delphin followed him out, if a dolphin could look disappointed, this one did.

"That was badly played, my lord."

"Not now, Delphin," Poseidon said bitterly.

* * *

_Camp half-blood._

Chiron watched the demigods filing into the dining pavilion, noisy chatter filled the morning air as they joked and laughed together. Even though everyone seemed to be in high spirits, something felt wrong, a dark presence hung dangerously in the air.

His eyes scanned around the sea of faces. Where was the Zeus demigods? None of them were here, that was strange.

Chiron checked again, but found the same results. A feeling of dread chilled him to the bone; hurriedly he galloped towards the white marbled building. Guardedly, he trotted inside; a rush of cold air hit him straight on.

Sudden shock gripped him as he stared at the frozen demigods. All of them were completely paralysed, covered head to toe with solid translucent ice.

There was a gasp behind him.

"What's happened? Oh my gods, what's happened?"

Chiron turned around to face the female demigod. His eyes were dark and thoughtful.

"Something evil has been here," he said broodingly. "I've never seen this type of power before..."

"Are we under attack?" Alysia panicked; her pale blue eyes wide and frightened. "Are they ok?"

Chiron shook his head. "I'm not sure if this is curable," he said seriously. "I need to get Apollo to look into this; he might be able to help."

Alysia nodded rapidly, and then sprinted out of the door in panic. Her mind filled with the terrifying faces of the frozen faces of the demigods. She sprinted into the dining pavilion, not bothering that her hair was a mess right now.

"Alysia!" her half sister from the Aphrodite cabin beckoned her over to their table. "What's up?"

Alysia stumbled over to the table, panting – she really hated being so unfit.

"Zeus's...children...frozen...scary..." she managed between breaths.

The cabin leader rolled her eyes. "Speak sense, Alysia – and sort your hair whilst you're at it."

Alysia nodded rapidly. "I was going down to breakfast and I saw Chiron inside the Zeus' cabin – I was curious...a-and every single demigod in there was frozen in ice," her voice trembled.

"Does this include Demitri?" Naida asked tentatively.

Alysia nodded.

The cabin leader, Marianna, rolled her eyes. "Oh my gods, Naida. How long do I have to tell you? It'll never work. It's obvious he likes me."

Alysia glared at her in disgust. Next to her, Naida took an interest in her feet.

"But what are we going to do about it, though?" Alysia was annoyed that no one was taking her seriously. "They were all completely paralysed – they might even be dead."

Marianna sighed dramatically. "Look, honey, it's nothing to worry about. I think it's your hair you need to worry about."

"I don't care about my hair! Not everything is about being beautiful – our camp could be in danger!"

"Oh, stop exaggerating; you just want all the attention to yourself."

Alysia flushed. "No I don't."

"Admit it, honey," Marianna said, picking some dirt out of her nails. "The camp has no place for people like you."

Alysia stood up suddenly. The whole Aphrodite cabin stared at her in silence.

Without saying a word, she stormed off out of the pavilion.

* * *

Erebus paced in front of them, his eyes smouldering in the firelight.

"So let me get this straight. You froze the entire Zeus cabin so now the whole Olympian council thinks they're under attack?"

Percy looked down at the floor. Arianne nudged him not so discreetly. He looked back up into Erebus' pure black eyes.

"Yes..."

Erebus turned to glare at Arianne.

"And you didn't stop him?"

"I was transporting a demigod," Arianne retorted. "You can't blame it on me."

"Yes I can, since you were in charge with the whole mission," Erebus left no room to protest. "I can't punish either of you – sadly – since I still need you both for more missions – but you're both litter picking in section B."

Arianne gaped at him. "What? That's disgusting – I swear that Minotaur has issues."

"Don't answer back," Erebus told her forebodingly, his expression darkening. "The buckets and spades are in a shed by the front of the palace."

"This is your fault," Arianne muttered to Percy, as they trailed out of the palace and down the cracked ground to the shed. She threw Percy a spade an picked up several buckets. "You might want a bath after this."

Percy nodded, though not really listening. Everything around him suddenly felt completely alien to him...it was so cold and empty; the atmosphere was full of despair and misery. How could he want to live here? It was so _lifeless_...

He thought about what Erebus had said when he first met him. He had promised to bring Percy's mother back – but would he really? How would he get the power? Was he really to be trusted?

Arianne scowled at him.

"You've got that unsure look on your face," she said warningly. "Thinking this isn't the right place for you?"

"No."

Arianne narrowed her eyes, accusingly. "You're lying, let me remind you – this is the right side for you. Not one single God cares for anyone but themselves – all they want is power and superiority over humans."

"But what about Erebus? And Nyx? Don't they want the same thing?"

"No, the Primordial's don't want power – they want justice," but even Arianne sounded uncertain. "Now stop asking questions and let's actually get this over with."

She dragged him into the potent smelling building before he could say anything. It was humongous inside, full of tables, chairs, pools of fire and the sleeping areas. But the worst thing? It was the stacks and stacks of poo...pale brown slimy poo.

Percy tried not to gag; Arianne stared distastefully at the reeking mess.

Every monster turned to look at them, their eyes gleaming with hunger.

"You bring ussss more food?" a dracaena hissed in glee, she stopped arm wrestling with a Cyclops and sauntered her way over to them.

The other monsters in the room started crowding around them, trying to reach Percy.

"Back off, Percy is a new recruit – you must treat him like one," Arianne commanded sharply.

The dracaena smiled in delight. "Does this mean we can challenge him to a fight? To see what he is worth?"

Percy stared pleadingly at Arianne to say no.

"Fine with me, but try not to get yourself killed – Nyx will go mental if get monster dust on the arena floor."

"That won't be a problem," one the monsters growled. "He looks to weedy to even survive five seconds."

Percy glared at it ferociously; he hated it when people underestimated him. "I could beat you in a fight any day."

The monsters laughed and jeered, making Percy bristle with anger.

"_Settle down_," Arianne ordered impatiently, her electric blue eyes flashing. "Go back to whatever you were doing – you can fight Percy later ok? Always good to work up an appetite."

The monsters grumbled in agreement and trudged back into the building, their feet picking up the brown sludge on the way.

Percy tried not to feel self conscious as he scooped up the excrement. Arianne worked alongside him, muttering unfriendly curses under her breath.

His hands were starting to ache and the buckets were almost overflowing with the dung...he must've been working for a few hours now. He stank of diarrhoea, but so did Arianne. She had disappeared from section B; she said that she was getting more buckets, though she still hadn't returned.

Ignoring the suspicious glares of the monsters, he dropped his buckets and ran down the grey path Arianne had taken, past the bones of the severed creatures that lay lifelessly by his feet.

Two people stood ahead of him in the distance, by a cascade of black rocks almost out of sight. He squinted, trying to see who they were. He could just see Arianne's black spiky hair but he had no idea who she was talking to. Maybe he was a friend?

Percy wasn't sure why he felt compelled to eavesdrop, maybe it was that tiny fact that they seemed to be arguing...and when Arianne argues...it's not a pleasant sight.

He hid behind the group of black rocks, just about able to hear what was being said.

"...my life now. If you think that anything can change now, you're wrong."

"No, it's you who is in the wrong – I mean, training an army in Tartarus? I should kill you right now."

"Then kill me," Arianne challenged defiantly. "Then I won't have to look at your hideous face again."

Percy's eyes widened, was she seriously asking to be killed? Maybe it was a trick...maybe it was an act. He didn't understand why Arianne was so angry right now, who was this stranger?

He waited for Arianne's body to collapse on the floor, as cold as stone. Though nothing happened...only the deafening sound of silence hung in the air, brewing thickly with tension.

"Arianne, _please_, I didn't mean it – it's my nature! I could never kill you, it's been almost three hundred years – it's been killing me, every single day!"

"Apparently not enough," Arianne muttered through her teeth, holding back her rage. "You know what? I never loved you – and I never will. I was a fool back then. But unlike you, I learn from my mistakes."

"You don't mean that," the stranger whispered. Percy craned his head over the rocks to try and see him, but all he saw was a broad figure of a man standing in front of him.

He quickly ducked down, in case Arianne had seen him. He had no intention of getting on her bad side whilst she was in this mood, from his few hours of knowing her, he had learnt never to get her annoyed or cross.

"Gods, you're not very bright are you? You ruined your chance three hundred years ago and I never give anyone second chances."

"Arianne-" the man stopped mid sentence and then let out a very girlish squeal.

_Thump_

He yelled out again and Percy heard something heavy fall onto the rocks.

Percy heard footsteps pounding from around the rocks; he pressed himself into the wall so Arianne wouldn't see him. The stone behind him was cold and slimy, as if it was infested with worms.

Suddenly he was yanked by the top of his shirt and lifted five inches off the ground.

"You little eavesdropper," Arianne spat, her blue eyes crackling with electricity.

"I was j-just checking to see if you were ok," Percy managed to say, even though his feet dangling lamely in the air. It made him realise just how small he was for his age.

"I don't need anyone's help," Arianne sneered. "I am perfectly capable of handling things by myself."

"O-ok," Percy nodded the best he could, though she was cutting the circulation out of his neck.

"You will _not _spy on me, since it is none of your business," her eyes were steely hard and firm.

"Right – O-ok, s-sorry," Percy gulped, hoping that she wouldn't beat him up too badly.

"You better be," Arianne growled and flung him onto the ground. His head collided with the rocks, making him feel dizzy.

"Oh, toughen up," she said heartlessly. "Don't look like a wimp all the time – and I suggest you have a bath now."

Percy nodded weakly and scampered off into the dark mist of Tartarus.

* * *

Arianne watched him run off in annoyance. That boy was seriously getting on her nerves – sure, he had an incredible amount of potential, but he was such a wimp at heart. Obviously, she would have to change that. There was no way she was having a peaceful little child fighting for their cause – he was so new to all of this, he could be easily swayed and led.

She was sure that Percy could effortlessly be turned into a mindless fool for the gods if he was exposed to their ways and culture. Now it was her job to look after this tiny twelve year old and use all her free time to train him.

Fantastic.

Arianne stared disgustedly at her former lover, he was lying face down on the rocks beside her, unconscious from the mighty kicks she had given him – one high, one low. It always worked for her.

He was snoring very unattractively in Arianne's opinion. She wasn't even sure how he had found her here...maybe there was a spy? Was it Percy? Arianne glowered at the thought of it even being him.

She looked back down again at the slumbering form of the man. Just looking at him brought back too many unwanted memories, that she had no wish to repeat.

"_Arianne! You've killed Ladon! That's just incredible – I mean, WOW!" her friend jumped up excitedly in front of her. Her bright multi coloured eyes shone with happiness._

_A crowd of demigods started forming around her as she made her way further into camp, a cheerful smile on her face._

_She was bombarded with sudden questions._

"_What was it like?"_

"_Did you get hurt?"_

"_Oh. My. Freaking. Gods. You are amazing!"_

_Arianne smiled and tried to answer them as quickly as she could. Her leather bag was now full of golden apples, slung over her left shoulder. _

"_Calm down, people. Give her some space," Chiron ordered, though there was a twinkle in his eyes. _

_The demigods slowly backed away, though they still carried on asking her questions. She didn't care though; it made her feel happy that everyone was taking notice of her for once._

Arianne blinked, trying to stop the sudden flow of memories. But more just kept on coming...and she hated it.

"_Open your eyes."_

_Arianne opened them slowly and took in the beautiful sight. _

_It was a luscious green clearing that sparkled with a gentle green light. A wooden table was in the middle of it with two seats on either side. The top was decorated with flowers and goblets of wine...her breathing hitched._

_She looked back at her lover in awe and delight, he looked so handsome right now and the way he gazed at her was so loving – so caring, it made her want to melt._

"_You did this for me?" she could hardly from the words, since she was smiling so much._

"_Of course, my love," he stroked her cheek fondly and pulled her into a soft passionate kiss. _

_She responded eagerly, and knotted her fingers in his silky hair._

Arianne let out an annoyed scream of anger and betrayal, she had promised herself never to think about this ever again. She stomped bitterly on the unconscious man, her foot connecting harshly with his arm.

She heard a nasty snap, but it still wasn't enough to satisfy her.

_Arianne raced down the beach, on her morning run, letting the cool air re-fresh and revive her. She loved this part of the day, she always took the most of it – it was the time for adventures – time for freedom. _

_The sand granules collected in her bare feet, though she kept running, breathing in the salty scent of the ocean. _

_Arianne climbed agilely up a crevice of rocks and onto a dewy grass cliff side. She stopped momentarily to admire the beatific scenery that stretched out to the right of her. _

_Hushed voices from a small group of trees broke her trance. _

"– _when are you going to split it with that girl – what's her name? Arianna?"_

"_Arianne."_

_She froze suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Tears welled up in her eyes. No. NO! This could not be happening! _

"_Fear not, my darling, she means nothing compared to you."_

_A silent scream rang hoarsely out of her throat; her hand immediately flew to her dagger. The tears were now streaming down her face, why had she been so stupid to trust him? _

_Her hand stretched back and then she smoothly released the dagger, it flew perfectly streamlined through the air and met its target perfectly._

_Her former lover yelled out in agony, the poison from the dagger seeped into his chest, turning his golden blood a sickly green colour. _

_The girl he was with screamed in horror, her hands flew to her mouth. They both stared where Arianne stood; she met his eyes in fury and wrath._

_He gazed back at her in regret and shock; his hands gripped the hilt of the dagger as he desperately tried to pull it out of his chest. The poison was making him die...not forever, he would reform in the next decade...but right now Arianne wanted revenge._

_Anger clouded her eyes, a bolt of lightning flashed in the clear sky, it zoomed down to earth. It shone with a blinding white light, the biggest one she had ever summoned. _

_And it hit him directly in the head._

"_Arianne!" she heard him scream. _

_Her upper lip trembled, a slam of pain flooded into her. Before he died, she ran away. Far away from him. She wanted nothing to remind her of him. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing._

And here he was right now, right by her feet.

She wrinkled her nose at him and spat a ball of spit at his face. If only she could find her poisonous dagger, the one she had lost three hundred years ago. If she had it now...well, it should probably could come in handy.

Without looking at him again, Arianne left him lying there, exposed to the horrors of Tartarus.

* * *

**AN: so who do you think the mysterious man is? A random guy? My own creation? Or someone i think you might know? hahah, no spoilers!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: Bonjourno! thanks so so much for reviewing! They're so encouraging! Hope you like this chapter...until next time :)**

* * *

"Round one, begin," Arianne said dryly, her tone was completely emotionless.

The Minotaur started running towards Percy, shaking the ground with his heavy footsteps. Percy tensed, ready to dodge him.

He really wished that swords and weapons were allowed in this match, although he wouldn't like to see what Mr Beef kept up his sleeve...

An image of Percy's mangled head lying on the ground came to his mind. Not pleasant...guess he'd just have to use his own powers.

He shot a beam of ice straight at the charging Minotaur, who promptly tumbled backwards and roared in fury at him. His anger only intensified.

The Minotaur charged at him again, trying to find his scent.

Percy waited...and waited...Now!

He jumped up onto the Minotaur's head, grabbing his horns to keep himself steady. The monster screamed and tried to shake him off, but Percy held on and concentrated on the air around him.

The Minotaur started to shimmer underneath him and suddenly he went aerial. Percy landed on the ground in a puddle of sea water, his vision started going blurry from the impact.

Arianne's face appeared in his view; she was scowling heavily at him.

"What did I tell you about _no killing_? I have no wish to reform an ugly cow in my spare time."

"How else was I supposed to defeat him?" Percy groaned, annoyed that she was in such a foul mood today. Maybe it was because she hadn't forgiven him about eavesdropping.

"Fight until he gives up," Arianne told him as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "_Not _turn him into a stinking puddle of water."

"Ok, ok," Percy said, though he was still trying to remain conscious from the fall.

"Oh, get up. You've got another hundred fights with the rest of the monsters out of section B," Arianne said distastefully.

"_Another hundred?_"

"_Yes_," Arianne said irritably. "So get back on your feet instead of having a nap on the ground."

Gods, what got into her today? It just sucked that Percy would have to spend his whole life around her...maybe when the Primordial's rule the world, he could finally get away from her. He didn't like to admit it, but she honestly terrified him.

* * *

Alysia stumbled into the forest clutching her small bag of supplies that she had stolen. Her mission? Get away from camp. What had it ever achieved going there anyway? Her mum never spoke to her, demigods would ignore her and there was no sense of purpose.

She knew that the Gods had their favourites...oh yes, and they made sure to tell the rest of the demigods that. Alysia hated everything about their ignorant attitude, why had Aphrodite never visited her? Not even once? She could have at least visited her on her twelfth birthday which was last week.

But as much as she hated the camp, being out her alone in the forest terrified her. It was getting darker and darker and soon she could hardly see where she was going.

Maybe it was a bad idea to run away...

_Alysia..._

She stopped suddenly, looking wildly around for the voice in fright. It was coming from all directions of the dimly lit woods.

_Alysia..._

Something pink was drifting towards her, suddenly all the things she loved about the world flooded into her mind. A scent of roses enveloped around her, the pink glow was getting closer and she could vaguely make out a woman in the middle of it.

As the figure got closer, the more relaxed she felt. There was something about the person that made her feel all happy and sleepy inside, all her anger for the gods had gone.

"Alysia, my daughter," the woman's face was constantly changing from one beautiful woman to another.

"Y – You're my mother?" she said dreamily, a smile lit up her face.

"Yes honey and I am so sorry I haven't visited you earlier. I was caught up in...Um...some business," Aphrodite smiled at her, showing off her perfectly straight white teeth.

"Oh...ok..." Alysia nodded in her trance.

"I don't think it's safe for you to be wandering around the woods right now," Aphrodite told her soothingly, her words were like wisps of poisonous smoke to her ears.

"I'm not going back to camp," Alysia said finally, trying to remember why she was out here in the first place.

"Go back, my daughter. You'll be safe there," her mother commanded smoothly.

A feeling of distrust welled up in her heart. The gentle warm feeling suddenly went, Alysia's eyes opened up in a new light.

"No," she said.

Her mother looked shocked that she could even disobey her.

"No, my dear? You're not siding against the gods, are you? What beauty will you get in that? There's nothing beautiful about being an outcast, darling," Aphrodite put more power in her words, trying to force her daughter to believe her.

Alysia waited, trying desperately to go against the charmspeak.

"I don't care about beauty," she said. "Apparently your _business _is more important than your daughter. Did you ever comfort me when I cried? Did you ever help me and my Dad pay for food in the famine? No you didn't. You're not my mother, you never were. A real mother wouldn't abandon their daughter _all her life_."

Aphrodite grimaced, annoyed that her own daughter was standing up to her. She suddenly realised that Alysia was one of the few of her children with the gift of charmspeak. It felt humiliating to be shown up by her own child.

But no demigod was more powerful than their godly parent, Alysia may be strong now, but she couldn't hold up for much longer.

"You're tired, my daughter, the gods have only ever treated you with kindness. It's time for you to rest," she laced the charmspeak strongly in her voice and was satisfied when Alysia's eyes glazed over.

"Kindness..." she muttered, almost as if she had never come across the word before.

"Sleep, child," Aphrodite whispered softly.

She caught her daughter as she collapsed to the ground and teleported them both out of the woods.

* * *

"It's over, you can get up now," an annoyed voice pulled him out of his daze.

Percy blinked back the spots in his eyes, feeling completely battered and exhausted. He'd lost track of how long he'd been fighting monsters.

"You gonna lie there the entire day, or are you going to actually do something?"

Percy mumbled something unintelligible and shakily got up to face Arianne.

"That. Was. Horrible," he gasped, longing to fall back to the ground again. He was sure that if he shaved off all his hair, all that would be left would be cuts and bruises.

"Don't show any weaknesses," Arianne sighed. "Remember that for next time."

Percy nodded and followed her out of the large arena, stumbling over his feet as he went.

"Who was that man you were talking too?" he asked her without thinking.

Arianne stiffened noticeably.

"None of your business."

"You love him don't you?" Percy wasn't even sure why he cared or bothered to persist.

"No. I thought that I did...but that was a long time ago."

Percy was silent, wondering what to say in response.

"He's still lying there, you know?" Arianne continued. The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became, opening up a new side to her. "I should return him back to Olympus, I suppose..."

"He's a god?"

Arianne nodded slowly, but she didn't look at him whilst she spoke.

"Yeah, and it got to his head. I don't know how...I – I don't...how could he..." Arianne stopped herself; Percy was surprised see tears springing up in her eyes. She started blinking like mad to get rid of them.

"Come on, I'll show you. I don't blame you for eavesdropping...I was just – just caught up in the moment, I guess..."

The shock that she was actually talking to him properly – not just ordering him around – made him feel giddy. For once, he felt a spark of something stir inside him, but he wasn't sure what it was.

He didn't know what to reply, so he kept his mouth shut.

Arianne silently led him towards the cascade of rocks, hiding her face from him. It surprised him that after so little time; she had opened up to him. Maybe she wasn't as bad as he thought.

"But if I ever catch you eavesdropping again, I swear that you'll be searching for your male anatomy for the next few centuries," she warned, a dangerous edge to her voice.

Percy paled at the thought.

Arianne turned round to face him, a small smirk on her face.

"But that's just one of the many tortures I can do," she said, smiling in an all knowing way.

She turned around again and knelt down next to an unconscious man who was currently face planting the ground.

"The gods are going to be wondering where he is...can't think why though. I wouldn't have this douche bag on my council."

"How did he find us here?" Percy asked worriedly, maybe the Olympians had discovered them already.

Arianne was silent for a moment, her eyes swept over the sleeping gods' body as if it were the most hideous thing ever.

Her eyes suddenly gleamed with triumph.

"Ah ha!" she said, ripping a golden dagger from the man's waist.

"What is it?"

"My dagger, it was the only gift from my father. It glows whenever it's near me – he must've used it to find me."

Percy frowned. "Doesn't that mean that he still loves you? If he would go into all that effort to find you?"

Arianne snorted disbelievingly. "Even if he did, it would make no difference."

"But what are you going to do about him now? He knows where we are – he will tell all the other gods."

"Simple, I'll just wipe his memory of the last few days and plant false ones there instead," her voice suddenly cracked at the end. For some reason, her lower lip started trembling.

"Do you still love him?" It was obvious that she did. Otherwise why would she be reacting like this?

"No, ok?" she snapped suddenly. "I've told you that already."

"I was only asking-"

"Leave me alone; go destroy some straw dummies or something lame like that."

Before he had the chance to respond, something hit him directly in the chest, piercing his skin like a burning hot iron.

Everything around him suddenly went black.

* * *

Alysia woke up, feeling more refreshed than ever. She was in a pristine white room that was lined with pillars and weird plants that grew out of golden vases.

Where was she? This certainly wasn't camp half blood...but strangely enough she didn't feel panicked or worried. All she felt was relaxation, like she had just drunk a cup of pure nectar.

Slowly, she got up from the feathery soft bed, blinking back the bright sun light that streamed into the room.

There was a sudden puff of pink powder and her mother suddenly appeared in front of her, smiling happily, gorgeous as ever.

"How are you feeling, honey?" she cooed, pushing back a stray piece hair on Alysia's head.

"I feel amazing," and that was the truth, she had felt never better.

"Excellent! Now we can start your training!"

"Training?" Alysia asked in confusion. She already trained at camp, what did she have to do now?

"Training to be my apprentice!" Aphrodite squealed excitedly, clapping her hands together in glee. "This world is far too straight forward with love – I need real drama to actually happen. It's incredibly boring to watch the same old couples staying together...day after day..."

"What do you want me to do?" but something inside her was screaming at her _don't help her! She's a self obsessed witch!_

"Hmm...Arrows – yes! Just fire as many as you want, different ones for different purposes. Here..." Aphrodite clicked her fingers, making a slender wooden bow appear on the ground. She picked it up and gave it to Alysia, who stared at it in wonder.

"How does it work?" she had never been good at archery, Apollo's children were the ones who excelled at it. At least she was better than Poseidon's children...eek...nasty memories...so many stray arrows in the wrong places...

"Just think about the type of arrow you want, jealously...love...hatred...those sort of things. Oh, yeah...one final thing..." Aphrodite clicked her fingers again.

Alysia stared at her blankly.

"Turn your head!" her mother squeaked in delight.

With curiosity, she twisted her head around and was suddenly met with a white out of feathers. She jumped in horror.

"Calm down, you look _beautiful_! Now you can fly around as well so no one can catch you! Plus, I've made you immortal, isn't that great?"

"I don't think I'm ready for this..." Alysia trailed off, doubtfully.

"Oh of course you are! You're my most powerful child I've ever had – and trust me, I've had a lot."

"But...what about camp? Will I able to see my friends again?"

"Sure, but I expect you'll be too busy to want to see them. Maybe on your adventures, you'll find a boy that you'll like and then you can break his heart and then find another one!"

"But I don't want to be like you!" Alysia burst out suddenly. "Boys have feelings as well."

"You'll get use to it," Aphrodite reassured encouragingly. Her multi coloured eyes flashed for a moment with irritation. "Go and practice on some mortals – oh and by the way, try Artemis, she hasn't dated anyone apart from Orion in her whole existence. How ridiculous is that?"

"Um..."

"Exactly, now off you go and mess up some relationships for me," Aphrodite swooped down and lightly hugged her and then vanished in a cloud of perfume.

Alysia blinked dazedly, not sure if this was real or not.

Absent minded she wandered down the brightly lit corridors of Aphrodite's temple and stepped out into the sunlit gardens of Olympus.

The nine muses were playing by a group of trees in front of a crowd of spectators; minor gods wrestled for fun on the grass and a group of nymphs were giggling at her and laughing.

"Hey, what's up? You new here?"

Alysia looked up startled that someone had just snuck up on her; she whipped round facing the person.

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously, her bow was suddenly knocked and ready to fire.

"Whoaaa...Luke Castellan – minor god of lies."

"How do I know you're not lying?" she replied, pulling back the string with ease.

Luke raised his hands playfully. "I don't lie unless I need to."

"Uh huh," this guy was irritating her already. What would actually happen if she let go of this arrow? Her mother told her to practice...

"Wait! Don't kill me!" Luke squeaked, he was probably thinking that she was serious about shooting him.

Too late...

The arrow whistled through the air, she wasn't even sure what type it was...but she was about to find out...

Suddenly, she was tackled to the ground; she felt his lips biting against hers. Oh gods...maybe she'd gone too far. His hands pinned her down under him, she didn't deny it, but she kind of enjoyed it.

Luke's hand snaked up her back with no hesitation; actually maybe it really was a bit too far. She squirmed underneath him, feeling slightly humiliated that this was in public.

"Get off her," a voice suddenly hissed out of nowhere.

Luke's body was flung off her and tumbled into a nearby tree. Alysia looked up at her rescuer, feeling slightly sheepish. Her hair was in a horrific mess from being on the floor...her mother would not be proud of her.

A tall woman in her mid twenties helped her up, shaking her head disapprovingly at her. She had auburn hair and sharp silver eyes that gazed furiously at the god of thieves.

"Sorry about him," the woman said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Wait...are you Alysia? Daughter of Aphrodite? What are you doing here?"

"A- Apparently I'm her new apprentice..." Alysia rubbed her nose to hide her embarrassment.

The woman sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh not another one," she ran a hand through her hair with annoyance.

"What do you mean?"

"Aphrodite's apprentices never last long, usually they get hunted down because everyone hates them," she replied bluntly and with no kindness.

Alysia looked down, suddenly feeling very lonely. Her mother probably didn't care about her at all and she hardly believed that she was her most powerful child.

"Oh...ok, I don't know what to do then..."

She waited for the woman to leave, but instead she just stood there watching her.

Something about the woman was familiar, the auburn hair and silver eyes...who was it that had that combination? It was at the tip of her tongue...

"Artemis!" she blurted out randomly.

"Yes?"

"Uh..." her mother had specifically told her to shoot Artemis. But she couldn't do it right now...she remembered from the classes at camp that Artemis was the best archer the world has ever seen.

It would be too obvious to shoot her now.

Maybe she'd do it later when she was least expecting it. Yeah, that sounded like a better plan.

* * *

"Percy!" Arianne cried out as he fell to the ground, a sword plunged into his chest.

"He's dead," her lover was sitting up from the ground, wide awake and staring at her with hope.

She let out a strangled scream of anger and swiped her dagger at the god, only to have it blocked with a surprising amount of force.

"Arianne, you don't mean this," the god pleaded, trying to defend himself. "It was a mistake – I swear on the River Styx!"

Arianne stopped attacking him, shocked. Five seconds passed and he hadn't been blasted into oblivion.

"You really mean it?" she whispered, not wanting to believe it.

"Yes," the god gently took her hand, leaning forwards slowly.

She stared at him, dumbfounded. Her gaze drifted to Percy who was breathing shallowly on the rocks, his skin deathly pale. There was a gaping wound in his chest; his shirt ripped open revealing the thick scarlet blood that poured out.

Panic helped her regain her mind. She pushed away the god suddenly and rushed over to Percy's side.

He was unconscious; his breathing was slowing right down. In all her life, she had never felt so terrified.

"Percy!"

"Arianne! He's dead!"

"You killed him, that's what you are – a monster!"

"Says the girl who hangs out with them on a daily basis," the god shot back, trying to pull her away. She punched him roughly in the jaw, making him fall to the ground groaning.

"The only monster here is you," Arianne spat her fury rising higher and higher.

"Is this about that demigod? He's three hundred years younger than you!"

"I don't like him in that way," Arianne sneered, hastily trying to find a stray piece of ambrosia in her pockets.

"Arianne, please! What about us? You really care about this boy more than me?"

"Duh, obviously. As if I ever cared for you," Arianne stuffed a mangled cube of ambrosia in Percy's mouth but nothing happened. She knew he was as good as dead.

Desperately she turned back to her lover.

"If you care about me, bring him back_, please_," she said quietly, meeting his eyes once more. They were exactly how she remembered them, full of sincerity and passion. Maybe he wasn't lying when he said that he was in love with her.

"I c-can't, it's beyond my power..."

"There has to be a way!"

The god was silent for a moment and then sighed. "I might know a way..."

"Tell me."

The god looked up, a spark lighting up in his eyes.

"For a kiss," he murmured, drawing closer to her.


End file.
